The final matchup in the first round is the four-seed Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit vs. the five-seed Evil Dead. Vote for which franchise you think should advance to the second round below, then scroll down to read about each series and view the entire bracket.

The final matchup in the Tournament of Movie Fanatic Franchises Bracket is here! A J.R.R. Tolkien classic faces off against one of the most beloved cult franchises ever made. Which do you think is better: Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit or Evil Dead? Vote for your favorite franchise!
View Poll »

Poll is now closed! Here are the results:

When J.R.R. Tolkien published his children’s fantasy The Hobbit in 1937, he never could have imagined it would become one of the biggest movie franchises in history. Tolkien would add his Lord of the Rings trilogy in following years, further expanding his Middle Earth world.

In a stroke of irony, The Lord of the Rings arrived first in 2001, with The Hobbit finally landing on the silver screen just last year. But after the billion-dollar success of the first trilogy, it seemed inevitable that director Peter Jackson would return to the world that gave him an Oscar for Best Director and Best Picture for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

The king of all cult horror franchises, Evil Dead launched the careers of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, and terrified audiences throughout the 80's and 90's. Playing off the fear of isolation, Evil Dead helped to codify the "cabin in the woods" genre of horror film, as well as take the classic idea of the "zombie" and turn it on its head.

Not only did the first movie break new ground, but the subsequent films were met with equal enthusiasm, each one earning more at the box office than the last. Classic camp is something that has always belonged with horror, but Evil Dead added a level of wry humor and winking self-awareness that has never been done better. The third film in the series, Army of Darkness, went so far as to send the main character Ash back in time to 14th-Century England in an absurdist action-packed battle with the undead.

Along with the three cherished films in the franchise, a remake of the original Evil Dead is on its way, starring Jane Levy and Shiloh Fernandez. Head to our Evil Dead franchise quotes for more.